Frank Gong, a prominent economist and an ardent backer of the Chinese yuan and the nation's economic prospects, has been selected to spearhead JPMorgan's investment banking business in China.

JPMorgan on Friday said it has appointed Gong as vice-chairman of its China investment banking business and as chairman of China diversified industry clients.

Gong will focus on expanding the coverage of the firm's corporate clients in China and work with other product and industry specialists to grow revenue across all investment banking products.

Gong, who was born in China and holds a PhD in financial economics from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, joined JPMorgan from Bank of America in 2004. He has been head of China research/strategy and chief economist since June 2004, leading JPMorgan's China research team covering equity research, market strategy, macroeconomics and foreign exchange.

Under Gong's leadership, JPMorgan's China research team was selected "Best Research Team in China" - the financial sector's equivalent of the Oscars - for the fourth year in a row in May.

Gong has also been consistently ranked as the No 1 China analyst and strategist by a number of leading publications and dubbed "the most amazing prophet of 2008" by Securities Daily.

On Aug 19, 2008, right before the global financial crisis started, he released a report saying the Chinese government would take measures to "save the market". According to the report, China was mulling an economic stimulus plan involving 200 billion yuan to 400 billion yuan. Three months later, the government released its 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package.

Gong also said China's economy had already reached the bottom in the fourth quarter of last year, a point he reiterated at a Beijing media briefing on April 10, when he said: "The bear market is gone, and the transition period to a bull market is finished."

This year, at a time when the property market was quite sluggish, Frank said property stocks would lead the recovery in the A-share market. In the following three months, property shares jumped nearly 100 percent.

"We are delighted to have Frank as part of our investment banking team. His understanding and unique insights into China's macroeconomics and business environment is an invaluable asset for the team," said Fang Fang, chief executive officer of JPMorgan China.

The firm also announced that Gong's responsibilities in China economic research will be handled by Qian Wang, who becomes a senior China economist. Wang joined JPMorgan as executive director in 2006. He holds a PhD in business administration from Stanford University, master's degree in economics from Duke University, and a bachelor degree in economics from Peking University.